This invention relates to alignment devices for assisting the driver of a towing vehicle in bringing such vehicle into proper position for connection to a trailer.
Alignment of towing vehicles for making connection of a coupler on a trailer with a mating ball carried by the towing vehicle has been a continuing problem. In many instances, one or both of the parts being aligned is obscured from the driver""s view so that the driver must blindly estimate the distance moved or rely on off-line devices such as mirrors or indicator flags mounted on flexible poles. In the case of pickup trucks, such indicators are placed to extend upward above the middle of the tailgate. This approach is not effective for certain vehicles such as vans which may have an upwardly extending obstruction in the form of the frame of a rear door or window at the middle of the rear end of the vehicle. In such cases it would be desirable to provide a device with an indicator which could be mounted in a selected angularly inclined position, as well as straight upward.
In addition to flexibility of indicator placement, other desirable features for an alignment device include simplicity of construction and operation as well as ease of assembly and disassembly for storage.
For many applications it would also be beneficial to provide for pre-setting the device in optimum alignment for a particular towing vehicle and trailer and to enable such setting to be reproduced by markings for future use without going through a detailed alignment procedure on each occasion.
Various approaches to trailer alignment devices are shown in prior patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,593, issued Aug. 6, 1991, to Collier, shows an upright post mounted on a magnetic base placed on a trailer coupler, the bottom end of the post movably mounted in a ball and socket joint. The device also has a telescoping horizontal arm extendable to a towing vehicle, U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,706, issued Oct. 28, 1997, to Talcott, shows a vertical post mounted on a coupler and a pivotable horizontal arm.
The present invention is directed to a trailer hitch alignment device having a base adapted for being removeably mounted on a coupler of a trailer, the base including a block provided with apertures for receiving an inserted pole at a selected one of a plurality of apertures, including a vertically aligned aperture and a plurality of angularly inclined aperatures, enabling a pole to be placed upright or inclined so as to avoid any obstructions to visibility of the pole in upright position. The block has at the bottom portion thereof a magnet for releaseably holding the block in place on the coupler.
The upright pole has a bottom end adapted for insertion into an aperture of the block and is moveably connected to a generally horizontal side arm. At the area of interaction of the post and side arm each of them is passed through one of a pair of support members, and the support members are yieldably secured together by means such as a spring. Adjustments to the location of the post and side arm may be made by sliding the post through the support member to a selected position and securing it with a thumbscrew. Vertical adjustments to the post are normally made to place the intersecting blocks at or near the level of the top of the tailgate for pickup trucks, and horizontal adjustments are made to have the forward end of the side arm come into contact with or in close proximity to the rearward edge of the tailgate.
The device as explained above is preferably employed in combination with sighting enhancement features placed on the towing vehicle, in particular an indicator strip at the middle of the top of the tailgate for a pickup truck and a targeting decal placed on the rear window of other towing vehicles which have an obstruction to sighting directly over the middle of a rear window. Alignment of these components with the forward end of the cross arm, and with the cross arm in contact with or close to a sight indicator on the towing vehicle, ensures that the moving parts are in position for coupling. For off-center alignment where the pole is disposed at an angle to provide visibility around an obstruction, allowance for the distance involved may be made by the driver. The device of this invention also provides for pre-setting of locations of the various components for a specific combination of towing and towed vehicles and for visibly marking the setting for future use with that combination.
It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a trailer hitch alignment device adapted for use for towing vehicles having partially obstructed view to the rear.
Another object is to provide a device having adjustable components which may be pre-set for specific vehicles and marked in such setting for future use.
Yet another object is to provide an alignment device that may be readily installed and removed without use of tools.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the claims appended hereto.